Folding blade mounting for automatic folders



y 25, 1954 H. D. ABELL ETAL 2,679,393

FOLDING BLADE MOUNTING FOR AUTOMATIC FOLDERS Filed June gs, 1952 I K i l 02 ,I73 3 3 9 I ,l/I/W' I79 20 q-- 41'. Q I I I3 Jo a,

D Ab ll H35: E.Ab ell & Norman R. Heald INVENTORS ATTORNEY Patented May 25, 1954 FOLDING BLADE MOUNTING FOR AUTOMATIC FOLDERS Harry D. Abell and Homer E. Abell, St. Albans, and Norman R. Heald, Chester Depot, Vt.

Application June 28, 1952, Serial No. 296,184

9 Claims.

This invention relates to folding machines of the type in which sheets of material such as laundered articles are automatically folded at definite fractions of their lengths. Such machines are in general well known, and embody a conveyor tape system to carry the articles through the machine, one of more folder blades operating to tuck the material between two adjacent belts, and folder control mechanism operated by contact with the sheet to actuate the folders to fold the sheet at the desired fraction of its length. This application is a division of our prior application for patent Ser. No. 89,904 filed April 27, 1949.

One object of the invention is to improve the folding mechanism by giving the folding blades a component of motion in the direction in which the sheet is travelling as well as a component toward and from the bite of the belts. A further object is to provide novel adjustments for the folder to allow for variations in the folding action of thick and thin materials, and to permit exact location of the folding point. Additional objects will appear from the following description and claims.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of one of the folders and its mounting;

Fig. 2 is an end view of some of the parts shown in Fig. 1 taken on a reduced scale and with some parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is a section, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 33 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a section, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The folder I69 is composed of spaced parallel fingers (only one of which is shown) mounted on a rectangular frame I'III mounted as will be described on a control box 50 supported in a channel 53. The details of construction of the mechanism within the control box are not of importance here and will not be described, the present invention dealing only with the way the folding blades are mounted to produce the desired path of travel and freedom of adjustment. It is sufficient to state that the box contains measuring mechanism started by the passage of the material to be folded past a trip I58 connected with the control box through a linkage I 41, I44, I49 and operating to move a bell crank I61 between the full and dotted line positions of Fig. 1 when the center or other predetermined line of the material is opposite the folding blades.

Neither is it of importance here to consider the complete path of travel of the material, which is first laid on the series of spaced parallel endless tapes 2t and is held between that series of tapes and a coacting series 22 past rollers 2 and 3 and finally to roller IL! where the two series of tapes separate. Tapes 20 pass around rollers I t and I5, while tapes 22 pass around roller 14 to join a coacting series 2i which has passed around a roller I3. It is the function of the folder I69 to tuck the material between the tapes 22 and 2| at the point where they meet, and since the material is of considerable width and since the folder must engage it substantially throughout its width it is standard practice to use spaced parallel tapes and a folder which is formed with spaced parallel fingers which pass through the spaces between the tapes. Since this type of construction is standard the showing of the tapes has been made conventional only.

Returning now to the description of the novel mounting for the folders, each frame I78 is connected by bolts I it and bushings I72 (Fig. 3) to the tops of four rocking arms I73 which are pivoted at their lower ends as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. Each aligned pair of arms H3 is mounted on a spacing sleeve E74 which is in turn mounted on bearings I15 held in position on a shaft I78 by collars I71. The shaft I78 is held by collars I18 and brackets I79 which are welded to the channel 53 so that the folding mechanism will slide out of the machine with the control boxes 50 The bell crank it? is connected by a compres sion spring coupling I96 to a bar I8I secured to the rear pair of rocking arms I73. Preferably this connection includes a bolt and slot I82 so that the pivot point can be moved up or down relative to the arms, since in this manner the position of the folding fingers at the end of their active stroke can be controlled. Another pivot bolt I83 is adjustable in a slot 184 formed in a bracket I secured to the channel 53. A tube I86 is attached to the pivot, and a piston I87 within it is coupled by a rod I88 to the lower arm of the bell crank. A compression spring I89 lies between the piston and the upper end of the tube, so that the bell crank is normally held in the position for which the pivot bolt I83 is adjusted. Since this is the position which the bell crank assumes prior to its activation by the control mechanism, and the position of the folder is determined by that of the bell crank, the adjustment of the bolt I83 in the slot I84 determines the position of the folder at the start of its movement. That adjustment also, of

course, determines the position of the folder relative to the goods when it starts tucking the latter between the tapes 2| and 22, for the further away the folder is from the goods when it starts to move the further the goods will have traveled when the folder makes contact with them. This adjustment is of particular value when two successive folds are to be made, for the position of the first fold determines the position of the hidden edge of the fabric after the second fold is made. In cases where the edges of the fabric are not entirely true this adjustment permits the hidden edge to be drawn back so that there is no danger of it being turned over when the second fold is made.

What we claim is:

1. A folder for an automatic folding machine of the type having two opposed sets of endless carrying tapes positioned in contact with each other for a portion of their lengths; comprising a folding blade, and mechanism for guiding the blade to carry material between the tape sets comprising a support, two pairs of arms pivoted to the support, a frame pivoted to the arms, a bell crank pivoted between the arms, a link connecting one arm of the bell crank to one pair of arms, and a link coupling the other arm of the bell crank to the support, said arms being pivoted to the support upon parallel axes, each pair of arms forming with said support as a lower link and said frame as an upper link, a four-bar linkage.

2. A folder for an automatic folding machine of the type having two opposed sets of endless carrying tapes positioned in contact with each other for a portion of their lengths; comprising a folding blade, and mechanism for guiding the blade to carry material between the tape sets comprising a support, two pairs of arms pivoted to the support, a frame pivoted to the arms, a bell crank pivoted between the arms, a link connecting one arm of the bell crank to one pair of arms, and a compression spring coupling the other arm of the bell crank to the support, means for adjusting the position of the link relative to the arms to vary the position of the folder at the end of its folding stroke, and means for adjusting the position of the compression coupling relative to the support, said arms being pivoted to the support upon parallel axes, each pair of arms forming with said support as a lower link and said frame as an upper link, a four-bar linkage.

3. A folder as claimed in claim 1 in which the second named link includes a compression spring.

4. A folder as claimed in claim 1 in which the position of the first-named link relative to said pair of arms is adjustable toward and away from the folder to vary the position of the folder at the end of its folding stroke.

5. A folder as claimed in claim 3 in which the position of the first-named link relative to said pair of arms is adjustable toward and away from the folder to vary the position of the folder at the end of its folding stroke.

6. A folder for an automatic folding machine of the type having two opposed sets of endless carrying tapes positioned in contact with each other for a portion of their lengths; comprising a folding blade, and mechanism for guiding the blade to carry material between the tape sets comprising a support, two pairs of arms pivoted to the support, a frame pivoted to the arms, a bell crank pivoted between the arms, a link connecting one arm of the bell crank to one pair of arms, a link coupling the other arm of the bell crank to the support and means for adjusting the position of the support-coupled end of the bell crank toward and away from the support to control the starting position of the folding blade,

said arms being pivoted to the support upon parallel axes, each pair of arms forming with said support as a lower link and said frame as an upper link a four-bar linkage.

'7. A folder for an automatic folding machine of the type having two opposed sets of endless carrying tapes positioned in contact with each other for a portion of their lengths; comprising a folding blade, and mechanism for guiding the blade to carry material between the tape sets comprising a support, two pairs of arms pivoted to the support, a frame pivoted to the arms, a bell crank pivoted on said support, a link connecting one arm of the bell crank to one pair of arms, and a compression spring coupling the other arm of the bell crank to the support, means for adjusting the position of the link relative to the arms to vary the position of the folder at the end of its folding stroke, and means for adjusting the position of the compression coupling relative to the support, said arms being pivoted to the support upon parallel axes, each pair of arms forming with said support as a lower link, and said frame as an upper link, a four-bar linkage.

8. A folder as claimed in claim '7 in which the position of the first-named link relative to said pair of arms is adjustable toward and away from the folder to vary the position of the folder at the end of its folding stroke.

9. A folder for an automatic folding machine of the type having two opposed sets of endless carrying tapes positioned in contact with each other for a portion of their lengths; comprising a folding blade, and mechanism for guiding the blade to carry material between the tape sets comprising a support, two pairs of arms pivoted to the support, a frame pivoted to the arms, a bell crank pivoted on said support, a link connecting one arm of the bell crank to one pair of arms, a link coupling the other arm of the bell crank to the support and means for adjusting the position of the support-coupled end of the bell crank toward and away from the support to control the starting position of the folding blade, said arms being pivoted to the support upon parallel axes, each pair of arms forming with said support as a lower link and said frame as an upper link a four-bar linkage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS -Number Name Date 2,308,155 Clegg Jan. 12, 1943 2,401,103 Preston May 28, 1948 

